Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens had a lot of goals heading into the offseason. He, along with the rest of the office, needed to help the C's escape the second apron while ushering in a new ownership group. Stevens accomplished this, but there's still another task that looms even larger involving Boston's go-to guy: star forward Jayson Tatum.

On Thursday afternoon at the Auerbach Center in Boston, Stevens spoke to the media and officially introduced new Celtics Governor Bill Chisholm to the public. And while many questions centered around the start of Chisholm's tenure as majority owner, Tatum's status inevitably came up, as the six-time All-Star is currently rehabbing a ruptured Achilles.

In response, Stevens admitted that although there are plenty of important things the Celtics must attend to this season, nothing compares to Tatum's health.

“My number one goal, my number two goal, three goal, four goal is Jayson Tatum fully healthy — full recovery,” Stevens said. “And he's well on his way. He has been incredibly diligent. He's been a great leader by example to people in this building when no players were around in the middle of the summer, and when a lot of the young guys have been in and around in the last month and a half. And we appreciate that, and we know that he's going to be itching to get back, and he will be the biggest decision-maker in that.”

What has Jayson Tatum said about his rehab process?

Just two days before Stevens' update, Tatum went on a media tour, making multiple TV appearances to discuss his offseason recovery. Since the 27-year-old is dealing with one of the most serious injuries in sports, there hasn't been much talk of him playing during the 2025-26 season.

Tuesday's press run may have changed that, as Tatum refused to rule himself out for the entirety of next season and revealed that his rehab process has been going well.

Article Continues Below

Stevens surely heard these comments, however, he isn't setting an official return date for his franchise player.

“I've said this from day one and I'll continue to say it: no timelines on Jayson, from my perspective,” Stevens asserted. “But there will be a lot of people in that room when that ultimately gets decided, including people that are working with him every day, and people that are really important to him. So, we're on a good path. And the most important thing is a fully healthy Jayson Tatum.”

This statement aligns with previous ones Stevens made following the Celtics' early exit from the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The former head coach has consistently said that getting Tatum back in the lineup — without rushing — is imperative for Boston's present and future.

Tatum was less tight-lipped about an ideal turnaround time, telling ESPN's Malika Andrews that he's already dreaming of the day he'll take the court again. In fact, he explicitly said he wants it to happen at TD Garden in front of the Boston faithful.

Whether that occurs in the final days of the 2025-26 regular season or the beginning of the 2026-27 campaign remains to be seen. Either way, Stevens and company will be doing everything possible to ensure Tatum is ready to don the green and white because getting him back is the best chance the Celtics have of reopening their championship window.